Posts Tagged ‘street style’

Winter is just about to come to an end, but before it warms up completely we have one last late winter/early spring T.U.G installment. This time in Oxford, Ga(photos from earlier this year– Jan/Feb 2011, w/ friends of the expanding T.U.G Crew: Cameron and Nedu)

Note: Even though it's warming up in the USA and many other places, it's cooling down and Autumn has just arrived in Australia, New Zealand, and other countries. So this will should especially be useful inspiration for readers in those locations.

Sometimes you'll put an ensemble together and later on realize that you look like an old school polo boosterkid– that's what happened here, lol (unintentionally RL from top to bottom, I even think the socks are RL…). We were in Pittsburgh last week, too busy to really hit the city, but we made our way to a few spots. One worth mentioning was a vintage spot in Squirrel Hill called Avalon Exchange. Unfortunately I left my camera the night we went, so there aren't any in-store photos, but we purchased a few pieces– vintage Wrangler vest, lightweight baseball jacket, creme Members Only jacket for the Spring, and a few other pieces. (oh, and shout out to all the Steelers fan– the only time I see that much black and yellow in one place is when I'm at a Georgia Tech game, and even then I see more old gold & white than black and yellow).

Let's take a quick break from our Valentine's Day Giveaways to see what's been going on in the streets. (via Scott Schuman and Tommy Ton)

Gotta love seeing that classic American style (jean shirt and pants, canvas vest,aviators) on the streets of Milan

I really love the drama of this photo. The fitted elegant styling and monochromatic hues of dark blue gives me flashes of the style of the men in the Black Panther Party, like Huey Newton, but with the color navy instead of black. (Happy Black History month, btw).

One of my favorite things to see is the mixing of "types" of clothing. A bubble vest, a more rugged type of clothing, layered on top a suit just does it for me on so many levels.

**Happy New Year to you all! 2010 was great, and 2011 should be even greater. The world might just end next year, so make this year count! Lol, just kiddin'. (2012 is a pretty good movie though). But forreal, heed to the cliches' of following your dreams and living with a purpose. I found myself listening to Lauryn Hill the other day (her MTV Unplugged album) and as usual she had some wise words, and spoke about "living" and doing what you love, doing something with a purpose, something that adds to the world not detracts or extracts from it… So that's our little T.U.G advice for 2011: Live & Live with a (positive) purpose.**

Alright, so yesterday I found myself flipping through a couple of magazines, yanno just checking up, peeping the styles, etc etc. And, well, after awhile I found myself totally uninspired. And the more I thought about it, the more it annoyed. So I decided that we were past due for a nice, Urban Gentleman street style round-up. I had a folder of looks I had been collecting from friends and sites around the net, buuuut somehow I can't find it… So I spent a little time collecting new ones (hopefully I'll find the other photos soon). Check it out:

Love this photo for some reason. It makes me happy. I guess because its original and reminiscent of classic slap-stick comedy, like the Three Stooges or something. The crew-neck sweat shirt pushed-up, the urbane wanderer backpack, the worn classic brogues… even the color story works, the orange socks and tan brown brogues match his hair. My only question is: how intentional did he put this look together? *pondering* The more I look at it, the more it looks like a ready-to-wear mix between Adam Kimmel and Comme Des Garcons.

Gotta love the layering. Navajo print, plaid, corduroy, and knit.

Usually I would never be attracted to loafers with such thick soles, but the thick-soled loafers work with this look. I'm digging the silhouette as well. Usually very skinny pants paired with a very full coat on a man can tend to look feminine, but this doesn't… therefore, I can dig it.

For this trend we followed our own rules… all-american everything, so only American brands. And we took it a step further by mainly using brands that are a lil' dated, aged, yanno, they go back some (in a good way). We pay stylish tribute to those classic hardworking American occupations, with our slightly modern day interpretations.

The History Behind T.U.G's American Workwear. Sometimes it's not enough to just say the label, sometimes you just gotta expound… So below we have a brief history of the fashion brands worn above.

Frye. Founded 1863, in New England, by John A.Frye. The Frye company is the oldest continuously operated shoe company in the United States. The boots were worn in the Civil War, by Teddy Roosevelt and his Rough Riders, and by many pioneers in the mid to late 1800's who headed from the East to the West.

Levi Strauss & Co. Founded in 1853, in San Francisco, California by Levi Strauss. The denim jean was created by tailor Jacob Davis and Levi Strauss. The first jeans were purchased and worn by gold miners during the California Gold Rush. Modern day jeans first appeared in the 1920s and were mainly worn by cowboys, railroad workers, and lumberjacks in Western America.

Bill's Khaki's. Founded in 1990 by Bill "King of Khaki" Thomas, in Pennsylvania. Once called the "Pants of the Gods" by GQ magazine, Bill's Khaki's draws its inspiration from a pair of WWII-worn khaki's Bill found at an army surplus store when in college. For him those khaki's were much better than the modern day ones. That thought grew into an idea to start a company that authentically captured and celebrated the America ideal. And that idea lead to Bill quitting his advertising job in Chicago and starting Bill's Khaki's.

Dickies. Founded in 1918, in Texas, by C.N. Williamson and E.E. Dickie. First named the U.S Overall Company, it was renamed in 1922 to Williamson-Dickie Manufacturing Company. Once worn by the US armed forces, Dickies is easily one of the most recognizable and classic American workwear brands.

Bugle Boy Industries. Founded in 1977, in Indiana, by electrical engineer William Mow. He founded the electronics company, Macrodata, in 1970 based on his invention of a unique method that tested large-scaled integrated chips. In 1976 due to an investigation by the SEC he sold his shares and left the company. Although the investigation was dropped, he vowed to stay away from the electronics design industry and found himself designing clothing instead. The company boomed in the 80s and 90s and sales nearly reached $1 billion for the privately owned US label. (Bugle Boy is no longer sold).

Converse All-Stars. Founded in 1908, by Marquis M. Converse, in Malden, Massachusetts. First only creating/selling winterized footwear, Marquis Converse tried something new and created the "Converse canvas shoe" for tennis. Then during basketball's US beginnings Converse invented the "All-Star" high top basketball shoe. Charles H. "Chuck" Taylor, an all American high school player, played for the Original New York Celtics (no relations to the Boston, Celtics), Buffalo Germans, and Akron Firestones. In 1921 Chuck Taylor joined Converse and improved upon the All Stars for basketball players, he became America's first endorsed basketball player. In 1923 Converse customized shoes for the New York Renaissance, the game's first all black pro basketball team. The "Rens" took the shoes to a whole new, unprecedented level of play (of course they did). With a then unbeaten record of 2,588 wins to 539 losses, the New York Renaissance became basketball's most successful team of all time. The Converse Chuck Taylor All-Stars are hands down one the most multi-functional pair of shoes. Although used initially for basketball, all-stars can historically be seen on paperboy's, athletes of all types, and factory workers alike– making it an easy pick to include in the American Workwear trend.

the New York Renaissance aka "Rens" Basketball Team

Ralph Lauren. Founded in 1967/1968 by Ralph Lauren (Lifschitz), in New York. In his early 20s Lauren attended school and worked at A.Rivetz & Co.. Originally a salesperson, he began designing ties for the company which inspired him to create his own line. So with his inspiration and designs, he acquired a $50,000 loan and started Polo Fashions in 1968. He began selling his men's line of ties to luxury retailers, starting with his own boutique within Bloomingdale's.

Grandfather's closet. Born in 1938 in southern Georgia, USA. This is the gentleman on the classic Urban Gentleman logo (featured above at the opening of the page). Thanks for letting us rummage your closet granddaddy!

I meant to put this up in time for the 4th, but you can still rep the red and white since July is the unofficial red, white, and blue month.

(shirt: vintage, pants: J.Crew, shoes: Toms, hat: Rag &Bone)

Urban Gent Kanayo King keeps it simple with a red and white gingham button-up (though it may appear pink in the photo), white chinos, and his favorite summer shoes– classic red Toms. And it all comes together with the fedora (brown with a red and white ribbon).

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